modernity Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 One of my recommenders is killing me. I contacted this particular professor months ago, in order to obtain a recommendation and they agreed. I sent them all of the information, and gave them instructions, and now, less than a week before the due date they still haven't sent anything. I understand their position, and how busy this time of year is for them.. so I'm trying to remain calm and give them the benefit of the doubt... but I gave them plenty of time, and making me sweat like this is the last thing I really need when I'm trying to tie up all the ends. Anyone else have a similar experience?
t_ruth Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 how do you know they haven't sent anything? If you are going by the applicant tracking screen, it may just not have been updated yet (I had that happen w/one of my recommendations). I'd contact the Uni first and then the writer if they really don't have it.
psychology Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 I had that situation about a month ago, although it was only 2 days before the deadline. It's super frustrating (in case you didn't already figure that one out.... ), but I found that sending a polite note was really helpful. I basically acknowledged that this is a busy time of year, thanked them again for their help, reminded them of the due date, and asked if there was anything I could do to help them along in the recommending process (send another SoP, meet, send CV). I also included a link to the recommending form. I received a very kind and apologetic reply-- they had mistakenly written my due date as being one MONTH after the actual date, so I was glad I sent the mail. Is this the only recommendation that this person has failed to send in, or do you have others on the way? If there are some later deadlines, you could perhaps even just send a note with all of the due dates and schools (you know, for their convenience)-- that way they'll notice the looming deadline. Best of luck!
Astaroth Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Yes, I had problems with one of my referees. He offered to write me a reference of his own volition, I didn't even ask him. When the time came to start filling in applications, I e-mailed him lots of information about what my plan was and what to expect. He didn't reply to my e-mail for about a month, however deadlines were fairly far away so I wasn't too worried. He replied eventually but didn't answer some questions I had asked him and just said that he will keep it in mind. When deadlines got closer and he hadn't yet submitted his reference I would have to send him reminders, and he would still leave it till the last possible minute. For one of my applications he actually missed the deadline by a few hours, and I sent an e-mail to the program asking whether my application was still accepted but they never got back to me... It was perhaps silly of me to put him down for a reference once again last night but this program isn't too hard on parts of the application being a bit late. Frankly, it baffles me that someone would be so irresponsible as to cause so much worrying and stress on a student who already has enough to deal with, let alone actually jeopardise their future and potentially invalidate an application by missing the deadline. It can't be that difficult or time consuming to fill in a reference. I know that some systems don't let referees just send in a document but instead make them fill in a form with different questions, which I understand can be annoying, but honestly... come on. Maybe he will think twice before offering to write people references again.
dragynally Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Luckily I asked my lor writers in September for a letter I needed for November. But still it took on of my people till the last minute to get back to me. The application was due Monday and she overnighted her letter Friday. Now I say this to say a friendly email changes everything. Just a hello thank you and my due date is can move things along. I think it'll be ok. Good luck
modernity Posted January 9, 2009 Author Posted January 9, 2009 I asked them at the very beginning of November for these recs as well...which I hoped would be plenty of time. I know they haven't sent them, because one university wants them to send me the letter first (signed and sealed of course) and for me to send the entirety of the package to them. Another university updates you immediately upon receipt of the professor's submission through their online system, and I have received neither (and already received both from others). I have already had to narrow down my choices of programs because 3 of the professors I wanted to ask for recommendations are MIA (they have left the university, moved on else where and no one has any contact with them, they didnt update email etc.)... so I have no extra recommendations to buffer me. It makes me want to kick myself for not getting them when i left undergrad...but unfortunately I cannot change the past. I am going to give it another day, and then likely send the polite email you suggested. I am really surprised that its this professor, as they seem very organized, and I have a lot of respect for them. Its also my most important recommendation, because I took the most classes with them, always had A's, worked extra hard in their classes, etc. Thank god for there being such a thing as overnight mail, because I'm going to need it!
rising_star Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. Your professors are busy and, while you may find it frustrating, they do wait until the last minute sometimes to submit their recommendations. You'll be fine. Don't panic.
dragynally Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 I know they haven't sent them, because one university wants them to send me the letter first (signed and sealed of course) and for me to send the entirety of the package to them. Dude I understand. A program I applied to was the same way which REALLY made it tough to wait. And I know profs are busy but you're dependent on them so it can be frustrating.
miratrix Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 One of my recommenders asked me to email him reminders one week before each deadline, so he's not sending his out any sooner than a week before...this leads me to think it will probably be okay.
limeinthecoconut Posted January 10, 2009 Posted January 10, 2009 Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. Your professors are busy and, while you may find it frustrating, they do wait until the last minute sometimes to submit their recommendations. You'll be fine. Don't panic. *cough* Now we know which professors submitted their assignments at the very last minute when they were students.
mlle Posted January 11, 2009 Posted January 11, 2009 *cough* Now we know which professors submitted their assignments at the very last minute when they were students. ...... :twisted: I'm actually having the same issue and it's really nerve-wrecking. One of my applications is due this coming Thursday (Jan 15) and one of my recommenders still hasn't sent in her LOR. I really don't want to resort to the polite email thing, though. I know there's nothing wrong with sending the polite email and it can actually be helpful, but I just don't want to be a pain in the ass if she is in fact aware of the deadline and simply won't get around to sending the LOR until the last minute (which I have a feeling is the case, based on her usual style of taking care of business). It's an online LOR, so thankfully there aren't additional layers of processing to deal with.
Tritonetelephone Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 I had almost the opposite problem - I gave all my recommenders their information packets in September and one of them emailed me less than 24 hours later to say that they'd all been sent. That's almost just as nerve wracking - I'll never know if he'd already had a letter prepared before I gave him the packet, or if he just sent in a generic letter that's going to end up being a huge detriment to all of my applications. I had a chance to peek at one of them (a sealed copy that I ended up not needing), but damn these ethics! Had to return it to him. At least I know my other two recommenders were careful and personal :roll:
IvyHope Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 I had almost the opposite problem - I gave all my recommenders their information packets in September and one of them emailed me less than 24 hours later to say that they'd all been sent. That's almost just as nerve wracking - I'll never know if he'd already had a letter prepared before I gave him the packet, or if he just sent in a generic letter that's going to end up being a huge detriment to all of my applications. I had a chance to peek at one of them (a sealed copy that I ended up not needing), but damn these ethics! Had to return it to him. At least I know my other two recommenders were careful and personal :roll: So, you opened a sealed letter and read it, and then returned it to the writer? Interesting...
polumetis23 Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 No, he had an opportunity to open one that he didn't use but returned it to the recommender instead, unopened. Otherwise, he would've told us what it said, right?
IvyHope Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 Well, how does one peek at a letter without opening it?
limeinthecoconut Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 I see. I just woke up. Good morning!
Tritonetelephone Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 Haha. Polumetis got it right. No, he had an opportunity to open one that he didn't use but returned it to the recommender instead, unopened. Except it's "she."
Tritonetelephone Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 Yeah, there's an old post somewhere on gradcafe (looked for it, but couldn't find it) of a girl last year who opened an extra letter and found out that the professor ended his letter with "I would not recommend this student for graduate study." So you can understand my temptation, but I went the honest route and made it a point to return it to him so he would know I never opened it.
plisar Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 Yeah, there's an old post somewhere on gradcafe (looked for it, but couldn't find it) of a girl last year who opened an extra letter and found out that the professor ended his letter with "I would not recommend this student for graduate study." So you can understand my temptation, but I went the honest route and made it a point to return it to him so he would know I never opened it. Yikes, someone actually did that to their student? What a jerk. One time I saw a letter of recommendation which said: "My graduate student told me this student was OK." That's it. It did not even have a signature. The moral of the story is to be sure you know who you are asking for letters from and more importantly, be sure that you read signals. If they do not seem terribly excited about doing it for you, ask someone else!
Colin Posted January 14, 2009 Posted January 14, 2009 Today I received a one word email from one of my LOR writers: "deadlines?" Um, the deadline is tomorrow for one school and Feb 15, (but I told him Feb 1) for another. wtf? I emailed him back: "The deadline is tomorrow, but I'm sure it'll be ok it it's alittle late. Thanks!" what could I say? really. just one more thing to add to the list of what I didn't get from my undergrad experience. What is galling /ironic is I considered this prof the most professional of the bunch (and the bunch is full of whackos, so, I probably SHOULD have known better to just assume all was well). I just didn't think I needed to be on his case about the deadline, especially since I was clear about the deadlines in a previous email. Oh, the F, Well?! I am hoping the gradschool can handle all of these seperate pieces of paper heading their way. Finding solace in imagining someone at sometime had a messier / tardier application process.
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